U.S. Drought Monitor

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U.S. Drought Monitor

#1 Postby cycloneye » Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:44 pm

This thread will have all the information about how the severe droughts areas are doing in the different areas of the U.S..Periodic updates will be posted here to see how the drought situation is doing in certain regions of the U.S.

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#2 Postby JenBayles » Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:34 pm

Thanks for starting this thread. I just spoke to my MIL in Wimberley, TX and she can't remember the last time she saw water actually running through the Blanco River. I've been watering daily for nearly 3 months - unheard of here in SE TX in the winter months.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#3 Postby Stephanie » Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:27 pm

It's like after the hurricanes, the faucet shut off. Unbelievable!

I hope that it doesn't take another hurricane/tropical feature to get Texas back into receiving regular rain.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#4 Postby cycloneye » Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:59 pm

So far this year,Puerto Rico has seen a good deal of rain in the form of scattered showers that Cold fronts that haved reached the island haved brought causing that distint from past years,no severe drought is in sight.

http://drought.unl.edu/dm/DM_state.htm?PR
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#5 Postby Tampa Bay Hurricane » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:33 pm

Texas drought continues to be quite severe.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#6 Postby boca » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:08 am

Stephanie wrote:It's like after the hurricanes, the faucet shut off. Unbelievable!

I hope that it doesn't take another hurricane/tropical feature to get Texas back into receiving regular rain.


Fay was the only tropical system which helped us out with the drought.We haven't had any substantial rain since November here in Southern Florida.We had a front around feb 2nd that gave us about a tenth of an inch.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#7 Postby jinftl » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:33 am

Since 10/20/08 through 2/22/09, Fort Lauderdale (airport) has had 0.98" of rain...that's less than an inch in 130 days!!!

Average rainfall from 10/20 - 2/22 at the airport is 14.19".

http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=mfl
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#8 Postby southerngale » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:21 pm

Wow, I didn't realize how bad the drought was in parts of Texas. My oh my... I hope y'all get some rain soon!

It's kind of weird... I didn't realize I was in the minority NOT being in a drought in Texas. The best I can tell from the map, I'm in that white part near northern Jefferson County and southern Hardin County. I know we've had enough rain recently that there's 0% chance we have a drought here. There's standing water in various spots and water in ditches just about everywhere you go. The airport however, is in the abnormally dry part of the map. I'm not sure how much rain they've gotten there lately, but it's possible they'll be out of the drought at the next update.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#9 Postby cycloneye » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:07 pm

Below is the latest update of the drought areas for this week:

National Drought Summary -- February 24, 2009

The discussion in the Looking Ahead section is simply a description of what the official national guidance from the National Weather Service (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction is depicting for current areas of dryness and drought. The NWS forecast products utilized include the HPC 5-day QPF and 5-day Mean Temperature progs, the 6-10 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, and the 8-14 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, valid as of late Wednesday afternoon of the USDM release week. The NWS forecast web page used for this section is: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/forecasts/.

Beneficial precipitation again fell on central and northern California, particularly in the higher elevations, abetting continued albeit slow relief from dryness and drought dating back well over 2 years. Farther east, moderate to heavy rainfall was spotty at best, resulting in only isolated, localized improvement and several areas of deterioration.

The East: Moderate to locally heavy precipitation fell on many locations from the northernmost tier of Florida northward through the Carolinas, with light amounts reported in most other areas of dryness and drought to the south and east of the Ohio River. The primary exception was the southern half of Florida, where only a few locations recorded measurable precipitation.

For most of the region, dryness and drought intensities remained unchanged; however, declining streamflows and slowly increasing precipitation deficits led to the introduction of moderate drought through most of Georgia, and farther south, moderate drought was expanded into parts of southwestern and east-central Florida, with a sliver of severe drought introduced along the southeastern coastline in the Miami and Palm Beach areas. Although winter is a dry time of year for the southern half of Florida, this past winter has been one of the driest on record at many locations, pushing soil moisture, lake levels, fire danger, and other reflections of surface moisture to critically low levels. Hydrologic concerns, which tend to respond to precipitation on longer time scales and typically arise during the wetter time of year (late spring through late autumn), are less critical at this juncture, but could decline quickly should dry weather persist through the next few months.

The Great Lakes Region: Light to moderate precipitation fell on most of the areas affected by dryness and drought, keeping drought classifications unchanged. Precipitation this past winter has been unremarkable to somewhat low, but a respectable snowpack has accumulated in most areas, which should provide at least some surface moisture recharge during spring snowmelt.

The Plains and Mississippi River Delta: It was a dry week for areas to the north and west of central Texas, and only isolated sites reported over 0.5 inch farther south and east, including the southern tier of Louisiana. The drought depiction for most of this region remained unchanged, with a couple of exceptions. First, D0AH was introduced across southwestern Louisiana and adjacent Texas, where moisture deficits have been growing slowly of late. Second, moderate agricultural drought was introduced across the northern Texas Panhandle, northwestern Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas. Winter is a dry time of year for the region, and hydrologic concerns at this point are minimal. However, this winter has been considerably drier than normal following some heavy late-autumn precipitation, and winter wheat has suffered as a result.

The West: Heavy precipitation again fell on the northern half of California, except in the northeasternmost portions of the state. Between 5 and 10 inches fell on the southern Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada, and at a few locations along the western coastline, with 1 to 5 inches reported in the rest of the Sierra Nevada, the western coastline from the Monterey area northward, and the central tier of the state from the Sacramento area northward. The 2008-2009 water year, which began in October, got off to a dry start, but the past 4 weeks brought a series of wet storms through this region that dropped in aggregate over 20 inches of precipitation on parts of the southern Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada, and at least a few inches on the rest of the region. Two large reservoirs, Shasta (near Redding) and Oroville (near Chico), were approaching historically low storage levels in late January, but since then, the quantity of water stored in both reservoirs has increased by more than 22 percent. Streamflows in the region have risen to near or above normal levels, and immediate surface moisture concerns have been assuaged. On the other hand, the heavy precipitation this past month is competing with precipitation shortfalls that have been accumulating for more than 2 years. Furthermore, this heavy precipitation fell on climatologically wet areas during the wettest time of year, so departures from normal, even in the relative short term, have not been as dramatically impacted as one might think. Precipitation totals through almost all of the region are still slightly below normal since late December, and most locations remain at least 4 inches behind the amounts typically recorded from the start of the water year through late February. As a result, the drought depiction didn’t change dramatically this week, with former D2 to D3 areas improving by one category from the southern Cascades southward and southeastward into the northern Sierra Nevada and the northern reaches of the Sacramento area. It should be noted as an aside that regardless of how much precipitation falls during the next week, additional changes are possible across the state as further assessments are made of the complex, intertwined impacts and issues involved.

Much drier conditions were observed in other parts of the West, keeping dryness and drought unchanged in most areas. Exceptions included east-central Nevada, where a well-above-normal snowpack led to a contraction of D2 conditions, and south-central Idaho, where snowpack water content under 80 percent of normal and gradually increasing long-term precipitation deficits prompted a northward expansion of D1 conditions.

Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico: It was an uneventful week across Hawaii, with scattered moderate to heavy rainfall reported, but reports of easing impacts, particularly from the agricultural sector, led to improvements across western Molokai (to D1) and limited improvements in parts of the Big Island.

In Alaska and Puerto Rico, abnormal dryness persisted.

Looking Ahead: Additional moderate to heavy precipitation is anticipated across central and northern California during February 26 – March 2, 2009. Except for the climatologically drier sections of northeastern California, more than 1 inch is forecast area-wide, with totals reaching as high as 4 inches in the higher elevations and the northwestern sections of the state. In addition, moderate to locally heavy precipitation is expected in northern sections of the Intermountain West and Rockies, with totals topping out around 1.5 inches in parts of central and northern Idaho. Unfortunately, significant precipitation is forecast to evade other areas of dryness and drought west of the Mississippi River. Farther east, at least light to moderate precipitation is expected in existing areas of dryness and drought, with inconsequential totals limited to the southern half of Florida. Generally 1 to 3 inches are forecast from central sections of Alabama and Georgia northward through the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic region.

For the ensuing 5 days (March 3 – 7, 2009), the odds favor drier than normal weather from the southernmost Rockies and the southern half of the High Plains eastward through Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley, and the Southeast. Subnormal amounts are also anticipated in the abnormally dry areas in Alaska. In contrast, surplus precipitation seems more likely in the Great Lakes region, the northern Intermountain West, the Great Basin, and the West Coast states.

http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#10 Postby somethingfunny » Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:17 pm

Only D2 conditions in my county is a little bit surprising. Every time I get on the highway there's a new patch of blackened grass along the side of the road. It seems like every time that it does rain, it's always in a hurry to get on out of here.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#11 Postby jinftl » Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:47 am

Southeast Florida now under "D2-Severe Drought" conditions

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http://drought.unl.edu/dm/DM_state.htm?FL,SE
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#12 Postby cctxhurricanewatcher » Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:24 pm

We haven't had a rain shower worth a 1/2 inch since September.

It's Dust Bowl dry.
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Re:

#13 Postby Portastorm » Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:21 am

cctxhurricanewatcher wrote:We haven't had a rain shower worth a 1/2 inch since September.

It's Dust Bowl dry.


We haven't had one since September either ... September 2007 that is!!
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#14 Postby JonathanBelles » Sat Feb 28, 2009 4:53 pm

TWC just said the Hillsborough River is running at 2% of normal!!!! WOW!
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#15 Postby cycloneye » Sat Feb 28, 2009 6:53 pm

California Declares Drought State of Emergency

Schwarzenegger Declares Drought Emergency
Agencies To Provide Assistance To Businesses, Communities

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency after three years of below-average rain and snowfall in California, a step that urges urban water agencies to reduce water use by 20 percent.

Mandatory conservation is an option if that and other measures are insufficient.

"This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with the same urgency by upgrading California's water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable water supply for our growing state," he said in a statement.

In signing the emergency proclamation, Schwarzenegger said California faces its third year of drought and must prepare for more.

The drought has forced farmers to fallow their fields, put thousands of agricultural workers out of work and prompted conservation measures in cities throughout the state.

"This drought is having a devastating impact on our people, our communities, our economy and our environment, making today's action absolutely necessary," the governor said in his statement.

The proclamation directs state agencies to provide assistance for affected communities and businesses, orders the Department of Water Resources to protect water quality supplies by installing temporary barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calls for a statewide conservation campaign.

Three dry winters have left California's state- and federally operated reservoirs at their lowest levels since 1992.

Image

Federal water managers plan to temporarily cut off water this March to thousands of California farms. The state has said it probably would deliver just 15 percent of the water contractors have requested this year.

Last June, Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought but stopped short of calling a state of emergency.

His 2008 executive order directed the state Department of Water Resources to speed water transfers to areas with the worst shortages and help local water districts with conservation efforts.

Over the last few weeks, storms have helped bring the seasons' rain totals to 87 percent of average, but the Sierra snowpack remains at 78 percent of normal for this time of year. State hydrologists say the snowpack must reach between 120 to 130 percent of normal to make up for the two previous dry winters and replenish California's key reservoirs.

The state delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and more than 750,000 acres of farmland.

Schwarzenegger's order leaves the door open for more severe restrictions later. Additional measures can include mandatory water rationing and water reductions.

Many local communities are already planning for a worsening drought.

At least 25 water agencies throughout the state already have imposed mandatory restrictions, while 66 others have voluntary measures in place.

Folsom residents and businesses could get water service cut off and face hefty fines of up to $100 for violating new stricter water-use rules that will take effect next month. Sacramento is also considering water rationing.

Almond farmer Shawn Coburn of Mendota said the move comes too late for many growers who already are halfway through the season. Some farmers didn't bring in bees to pollinate, while others sprayed their orchards with chemicals that keep nuts from forming.

"It's too late," he said. "It's going to sound horrible coming from a farmer because you never turn down help, but come on, this thing is over with."

http://www.kcra.com/water/18812494/detail.html#
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#16 Postby cycloneye » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:23 pm

National Drought Summary -- March 3, 2009

The discussion in the Looking Ahead section is simply a description of what the official national guidance from the National Weather Service (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction is depicting for current areas of dryness and drought. The NWS forecast products utilized include the HPC 5-day QPF and 5-day Mean Temperature progs, the 6-10 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, and the 8-14 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, valid as of late Wednesday afternoon of the USDM release week. The NWS forecast web page used for this section is: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/forecasts/.

Beneficial precipitation again fell on central and northern California, bringing additional relief to areas in severe and extreme drought. Little to no precipitation fell from southern California to the southern Plains and conditions deteriorated in parts of the Southwest and southern Plains. Two storm systems brought much needed rain and snow to the Southeast, leading to some improvements and staving off further degradation in other areas.

The East: Moderate to locally heavy precipitation (2 to more than 5 inches) fell from parts of northern Mississippi to central South Carolina while precipitation totals generally less than 2 inches fell in other areas of the Carolinas and southern Virginia. Precipitation came in the form of rain followed by a strong winter storm that brought from 4 to 12 inches of snow to a broad area from northern Georgia to the western Carolinas and northward through Virginia and the northeastern corridor.

Although much of the moderate to heavy precipitation in the Deep South fell in drought-free areas, one-category improvements were made in northern Alabama and northern Georgia. The area of abnormally dry (D0) conditions shrank in northern Alabama. A small drought-free area was established in northeast Georgia along with a reduction to the expanse of moderate (D1AH) to extreme (D3AH) drought areas in north-central and northeast Georgia. Precipitation totals from 3 to 5 inches during the past week brought a 1-category improvement from D1AH to D0 in east-central Georgia.

One-category reductions also occurred in the Carolinas along the eastern edges of the extreme (D3AH) and severe (D2AH) drought areas. Rainfall totals from 1 to 2 inches in parts of eastern South and North Carolina contributed to precipitation surpluses at the 6- and 12-month timescales and brought an end to abnormally dry (D0) conditions as well as a 1-category improvement in moderate (D1) drought in the northeastern corner of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Well levels and streamflows in the area rose appreciably following the week’s rainfall. The improvement in short-term conditions resulted in an impact designation change from AH to H from eastern North Carolina to eastern Georgia.

Continued drier-than-average conditions on the peninsula of Florida resulted in expansion of abnormal dryness and moderate (D1A) drought in central to north-central areas of the state. Moderate (D1) and severe (D2) drought now stretches from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic across much of the Florida Peninsula. A 1-category degradation to severe (D2AH) drought occurred in Gulf Coast counties north of Tampa where USGS streamflow values below the 5th percentile are widespread.

In southern Florida, Lake Okeechobee continues to fall by 0.03 to 0.04 feet per day, and was down to 12.78 feet by the beginning of March. In Miami-Dade County, severe (D2AH) drought spread southwestward. Underground reservations wells have dropped into the 10 to 30 percent level with some of the southern-most wells dropping to the lowest 10 percent level. In southern areas of the county some airboat tour companies have reportedly restricted travel in the area because of low water levels.

Along northern fringes of the drought-affected region of the eastern U.S., abnormally dry (D0) conditions spread through northeast West Virginia and central Maryland into southern Pennsylvania. Precipitation deficits at timescales from 1 week to 6 months and streamflows below the 20th percentile are widespread.

The Great Lakes Region: Most of the drought-affected areas of the region received less than 0.5 inches of precipitation. But higher totals along the southern edges of the D0 to D2 affected areas of central Wisconsin on top of winter season totals that were generally near to above average, led to a northward contraction of abnormally dry (D0), moderate (D1H) and severe (D2H) drought. The areas affected by abnormal dryness also shrank in northeast Iowa.

The Plains and Mississippi River Delta: Another week of below-average precipitation from southern Mississippi to the southern Plains led to widespread expansion of abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought. Areas affected by severe to exceptional drought also increased in parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

Mounting short-term deficits led to a designation of abnormal dryness that stretched from southern Mississippi, across much of Louisiana into northeastern Texas, southern Arkansas, and southeastern Oklahoma. Moderate (D1) drought also expanded to cover an area from southwestern Alabama to southeastern Texas. In this area USGS 7-day to 28-day streamflows below the 10th percentile and 90-day precipitation totals less than 50% of average are widespread. In southwest Oklahoma severe (D2A) drought spread farther north through Washita, Custer and western Caddo counties as 30- to 60-day precipitation deficits led to deteriorating soil moisture conditions.

Conditions also continued to deteriorate across the core drought region of southern Texas. The center of dryness during the winter season occurred along the middle coast between Corpus Christi and Victoria, each receiving only slightly more than 10% of normal seasonal precipitation. It was the driest winter at Victoria and second driest at Corpus Christi, with records dating back to the late 1800s. As a result of the persistent dryness and warmer-than-average temperatures, exceptional (D4AH) drought spread southward to the Gulf Coast from southern Matagorda to Aransas County. High winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation in the state led to numerous wildfires. More than 30 homes and businesses were destroyed by a 750 acre wildfire in Bastrop County and at least 22 new fires were reported on the last day of February alone. March and April are on average the two most active months for wildfires across Texas, with extremely dry conditions creating the potential for more wildfires.

Since the beginning of the current drought in September 2007, this has been the driest 18-month September to February period in San Antonio since records began in 1885. It has been the 3rd driest such period in Austin since 1856. In Guadalupe County, about 30 miles east-northeast of San Antonio, county commissioners were reported to have declared a drought disaster during the past week as the county’s cattle ranchers have been badly affected by the drought of the past 18 months.

An expansion of severe (D2AH) to exceptional (D4AH) drought also occurred around the periphery of the drought-affected areas in southern Texas. In the Panhandle, moderate (D1A) drought spread southward to a line from southern Deaf Smith to southern Collingsworth counties where large 60- and 90-day precipitation deficits are widespread.

Abnormal dryness (D0) expanded northward through much of Kansas in keeping with 30 to 90-day precipitation totals that have been less than 25 to 50% of average.

The West: Although snowpack in much of the Colorado Rockies was above normal as meteorological winter ended, areas below 9000 feet in elevation on the east slopes remained in deficit. Persistent warmer and drier-than-average winter conditions along the front range of the Colorado Rockies produced an area of moderate (D1A) drought from southwest of Denver northward to the Wyoming border. Strong winds (more than 25 days with wind gusts exceeding 30 mph in Denver and Colorado Springs during the past three months) and the occurrence of record daily high temperatures contributed to the deteriorating conditions.

In southwest New Mexico abnormally dry conditions expanded westward into southeastern Arizona and moderate (D1A) drought developed in areas where winter season precipitation was less than 25% of average and snowpack water content less than 50% of seasonal averages. Abnormal dryness (D0) conditions were also established on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, where winter precipitation deficits exceeded 15 inches and mountain snowpack water content was less than 75% of average at the beginning of March.

Heavy precipitation once again fell on the northern half of California, helping to ameliorate drought in the hardest hit areas of the state. From 2 to 6 inches of precipitation fell on large parts of the southern Cascades and central and northern Sierra Nevada. Similar totals were reported along the western coastline from northern California to parts of Washington State. From 1 to 2 inches fell in the central tier of California from the Sacramento area northward. A 1-category improvement across a large area of extreme (D3) drought occurred from the Pacific coast to the crest of the Sierras along with a reduction from severe (D2) to moderate (D1) in the northern Sacramento River Basin. Below average USGS streamflows and surface moisture deficits in January were replaced by flash flood and mudslide concerns as March began. Shasta Reservoir, the largest reservoir in California, increased 598,000 acre-feet in February, a 42% increase since the end of January and the 8th best January to February improvement in 54 years. These were the biggest such improvements since the early 1990s. Storage in the second largest reservoir in California, Oroville, increased more than 360,000 acre-feet during the same period, a 35.7% increase. But even with these big gains, Shasta and Oroville reservoirs were near the 5th and 2.5th percentile, respectively, at the end of February, an example of how historically low the levels fell in January. With heavy precipitation continuing in this area into the first week of March, further improvements are likely, and runoff during the snowmelt season is expected to bring additional gains. Conditions in central California also improved as a result of the anomalously wet conditions of the past several weeks. Water-year-to-date precipitation in the Central Sierra Nevada was above average as of March 1, and most reservoirs in the San Joaquin River Basin were above the 15th percentile. Reflecting the improving conditions, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought along the east side of the San Joaquin Valley.

Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico: Drought conditions remained unchanged across the Hawaiian islands, where it was a generally drier-than-average week. Abnormal dryness persisted in parts of Alaska. Mounting short-term precipitation deficits brought an expansion of abnormally dry conditions to eastern areas of Puerto Rico. Rainfall totals in this area have been less than 50% to 75% of normal during the past three months.

Looking Ahead: The northern tier states are anticipated to receive the bulk of precipitation during March 5 – March 9, 2009. Widespread areas of precipitation are expected to occur from the Colorado Rockies to northern California and the Pacific Northwest. From 1 to 2 inches is possible in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest while lighter amounts are more likely over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and the northern sections of the Intermountain West. Precipitation is again expected to fall in northern California, but amounts will likely be lower than the recent past. Forecasts indicate light precipitation in drought-affected areas of the Upper Midwest. Little to no precipitation is anticipated in the most southern parts of the Southwest, and the Southeast will likely remain precipitation free until the passage of a frontal system as the period comes to a close. Temperatures are expected to be below average across much of the western third of the nation while the central and eastern U.S. are expected to be warmer to much warmer than average.

For the ensuing 5 days (March 10 – 14, 2009), the odds favor a continuation of cooler-than-normal conditions from the West Coast to the Rockies and into the Plains with well below average temperatures in the northern Rockies and northern Plains. Above-average temperatures are more likely in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. A much drier pattern is favored to return to northern California and the Pacific Northwest while an active weather pattern affects the eastern two-thirds of the nation from the Rockies to the East Coast. Above average precipitation is forecast across much of the central and eastern U.S. with the heaviest amounts in the Ohio and Tennessee Valley. However little or no precipitation is anticipated over the Florida Peninsula and West Texas. In Alaska, above normal temperatures and precipitation are favored across the Aleutians and western Alaska, while below-average temperatures and precipitation are expected in the Alaska Panhandle.

http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

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#17 Postby somethingfunny » Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:21 pm

HMMM....according to that map, the massive states of Texas and California are both entirely within drought conditions.

BUT....California has no D4, a small area of D3, and a fair bit of D2....and Texas has a rather large D4 area, an even larger D3 area (it's the size of Ohio), and an enormous area of D2.


SO....why hasn't Texas declared a "drought emergency"?


Yes, I know there is a difference in reliability between Sierra snowpack and the Edwards Aquifer, so it's kind of like apples and oranges..... but I'd like to make a statement about superior water conservation, storage capacity, and long-term growth planning right here in good ole Texas. 8-)

We've got the water resources to keep our golf courses green all the way through another Dust Bowl. Next time you Californians (or Floridians...or Georgians...) have to deal with a mandatory 3-minute shower, remember that the drought in Texas is probably still worse, but we've planned ahead.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#18 Postby somethingfunny » Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:36 pm

Fire Warnings issued in west Texas and Oklahoma.

OKC043-060100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FIRE WARNING
DEWEY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
600 PM CST THU MAR 5 2009

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS BEING TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF
DEWEY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

A LARGE FIRE IS APPROACHING TALOGA FROM THE SOUTH. RESIDENT OF
TALOGA ARE URGED TO HEAD NORTH ON 183 TO SEILING. RESIDENTS
ARE TO MEET AT THE OLD GYM IN SEILING.


$$


TXC441-060130-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FIRE WARNING
TAYLOR COUNTY JUDGE
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
416 PM CST THU MAR 5 2009

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE TAYLOR
COUNTY JUDGE.

A LARGE GRASS FIRE IS BURNING BETWEEN TUSCOLA AND ABILENE ON
HIGHWAY 83...84 NEAR THE Y INTERSECTION AND HILLTOP GAS STATION.
THIS HIGHWAY IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PLEASE USE DILIGENCE
IN TRAVELING TOWARD THIS AREA. TRAVEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED AT THIS
TIME. RESIDENTS MAY WANT TO VOLUNTARILY EVACUATE.

$$
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Re:

#19 Postby jinftl » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:24 am

Ummm...may want to re-evaluate the threat the current drought poses in your state....this is not even close to what texan's can consider a 'manageable situation'....unfortunately, we are all in the same boat when it comes to water woes due to drought....no magic stockpile of water that can be released at will anywhere in the u.s.


Dire water shortage is forecast for Texas' future
By BETSY BLANEY
Associated Press

LUBBOCK -- Reliable sources of clean water are the key to a successful economic future for Texas, and without them the state and businesses could suffer billions in losses.

That was the dire message in a recent report from the office of state comptroller Susan Combs, a longtime West Texas rancher familiar with the agricultural difficulties that come from too little water.

"The water wolf is lurking right outside the door," Combs told The Associated Press. "This could actually cost the state a whole lot of money."

In the report, "Liquid Assets: The State of Texas' Water Resources," Combs' office projected that insufficient water supplies could cost Texans abut $9 billion next year and more than $98 billion by 2060.

The state also stands to lose tax revenues -- about $466 million next year and more than $5 billion by 2060 -- if its water needs are not met, according to the report.

Among the reasons cited were Texas' rapidly growing population and ongoing drought across much of the state.

Texas' population is expected to double to over 46 million by 2060, boosting the water demand by about 27 percent, the report states. More than 95 percent of the state is in some stage of drought, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor's map.

Because Texas does not have enough sources of water to meet its future needs, the report said new management and strategies will need to be crafted.


The Texas Water Development Board, which oversees the state's water resources, estimates that groundwater accounts for about 60 percent of all available fresh water. Surface water amounts to about 40 percent.

Both sources are decreasing: groundwater is being pumped from the state's numerous aquifers more quickly than they can be recharged and sediment accumulations are robbing reservoirs of surface water capacity.

Other threats to Texas' water supplies also loom, the report found. For example, a drought would leave about 85 percent of the state's population in 2060 without enough water. The report suggests more tax dollars may be needed going forward to help plan for the state's water needs.

Amy Hardberger, an attorney with The Environmental Defense Fund in Texas, disagreed with parts of the report, saying it relied on the "status quo" for projections.

"The underlying assumptions are wrong and not what they should be," she said. The report "assumes for the most part that we're going to be using water in the same way we're using it now, and I think that's a mistake. That does not really need to be our future. We don't sort of march forth and not learn from our past."

Combs said she knows future water usage will change, but that the report "simply pointed out what might happen."

She said the state should focus first on conservation, including preventing "a sizable number" of gallons now being lost due to leaky municipal water delivery systems.

"A lot of this is invisible," Combs said. "That's not sexy or dynamic or exciting, but it's really water. It's in the state's interest ... to assist cities to ensure water is making it from pipe to pipe."


http://www.theeagle.com/news/Dire-water ... as--future



somethingfunny wrote:HMMM....according to that map, the massive states of Texas and California are both entirely within drought conditions.

BUT....California has no D4, a small area of D3, and a fair bit of D2....and Texas has a rather large D4 area, an even larger D3 area (it's the size of Ohio), and an enormous area of D2.


SO....why hasn't Texas declared a "drought emergency"?


Yes, I know there is a difference in reliability between Sierra snowpack and the Edwards Aquifer, so it's kind of like apples and oranges..... but I'd like to make a statement about superior water conservation, storage capacity, and long-term growth planning right here in good ole Texas. 8-)

We've got the water resources to keep our golf courses green all the way through another Dust Bowl. Next time you Californians (or Floridians...or Georgians...) have to deal with a mandatory 3-minute shower, remember that the drought in Texas is probably still worse, but we've planned ahead.
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Re: U.S. Drought Monitor thread

#20 Postby vbhoutex » Fri Mar 06, 2009 12:25 pm

Wow!! Thanks for the good news!!! :eek: :eek:
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